Typewriter ribbon spool



Jan 4, 1944- R. D. DODGE i TYPEWRITER RIBBON SPOOL Filed June 23, 1942 F`|G.2. FIGB.

FIGA.

F'IG.6; p ,5.

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VlNTOR. ATABRNEY.

the machine and attached to It has been proposed to Wind Patented Jan. 4, 1 944 2,333,168 rYPEwm'rEn nmBoN srooi.

Ronald D. Dodge,

Rochester, N.

Y., assigner to International Business Machines Corporation,

New York, N. Y., a corporation I.'V

`ew York Application June 23, 1942, Serial` No. 448,070

2 Claims.

This invention relates to typewriting machines.

.An object of the present invention is to provide an improved typewriter ribbon spool.

An object is to provide a typewriter ribbon spool which is demountable so` that it may be permanently associated with the machine and not, as is the usual case, thrown away with the ribbon when the ribbon becomes exhausted of ink. v

An object is to provide a ribbon spool which conserves raw materials.

An object is to provide aribbon spool on which the ribbon, which is already Wound upon .a suitable core, may be slipped to enable the ribbon threaded through the empty spool which is left after the exhausted ribbon is completely wound on the spool thrown away. This is a very wasteful procedure because the ribbon spool thrown away is usually infgood condition and could be used many times before becoming suiiiciently worn out to warrant throwing it away.

substituted. The ribbon is then suitable inexpensive core to which the inner end of the ribbon is attached and'make the ribbon warrants discarding it.

Accordingly an object of the present invention is to providea demountable or separable ribbon spool which will be capable of being taken apartY for the insertion of a new ribbon to avoid the rather messy operation of winding of the ribbon on the spool by hand. Y

Other objects of the invention will be pointed out in the following description and claims and illustrated in the accompanying drawing, which discloses, by way of egrample, the principle of the invention and the best mode, which has been contemplated, of applying that principle.

In the drawing: v y v Fig. 1 is' a front view of a ribbonspool constructed according to the teachings of the present invention. y v Fig. 2 is a side/view' of the -ribbon spool with the ribbon and its core removed to show the construction of the spool hub. l

the ribbons on a' teeth lUa (Fig. 1).

Fig. 3 is a vertical section through the removable ange of the ribbon spool.

Fig. 4 is an end view of the ribbon core, showing how the ribbon is attached thereto.

Fig. 5 is a side view of the ribbon core.

Fig. 6 is a view of one end of the ribbon.

The ribbon spool comprises two flanges I0 and Il (Fig. 2) and a central hub I2, the flange l0 being removably attached, while the iiange Il is permanently attached, to the hub |2. These vflanges I0 and II are both provided with ratchet In the well known Electromatic, ratchet teeth 10a cooperate with the ribbon feed pawls which rotate the ribbon spool to wind the ribbonthereon, the spool being rotated one tooth space for each type bar operation. These ribbon spools may be suitably dimensioned to fit any well known typewriting machine or to t other machines which employ inking ribbons as a means of inking the type impressions upon the work sheet. Where the ribbon spool is driven through its hub, as by a shaft, it may be necessary in some cases tomodify flanges I0 and I-I to provide the necessary keyway or some other means of temporarily fastening the ribbon spool to the shaft which such means are shown herein .since the ratchet teeth I0a in the Electromatic provide the sole means ofv rotating the spool which is merely loosely pivotally mounted in the machine in cooperation with the ribbon feed pawls.

The hub I2 is cylindrical and is formed of a single narrow strip of sheet metal bent nearly circular, but is not of suflcient length to form a complete cylinder for a purpose to be made clear hereinafter. The hub I2 may be formed with a prong or tooth I2a which may,l in some cases,

which more will be said hereinafter.

The hub I2 is formed with four lugs I2b which left hand end of the hub l2, the holes I0b in the ange I0 being large enough to admit the bentover lugsV |2c; 4 There are four of the lugs I2c and for the purpose of locking the flange I0 on the hub I2 by means of the lugs there is provided a locking member or rotary rotates it. No-

5) which leads ribbon upon the hub l2.

bolt I3 which may take the form of a spider pivotally mounted on a ange l by means of a bushing I4 rivetted to member I3 as best shown in Fig. 3, Bushing I4 has a shoulder rotating in a hole in flange l0 and serves as one bearing for rotatably supporting the ribbon spool in the machine.

The member i3 is formed with a cruciform portion i3d to form four locking projections l3b which, when the member is set in the position of Fig. l, project tightly under the lugs l2c and securely hold the flange i0 on the hub l2. As a means of preventing the member i3 from being too easily turned, owing to the fact that the pivot on flange it will ultimately become worn in time and too loose, member i3 is formed with a nicked or notched portion itc which registers with the grooves formed by suitable stiffening ribs iEic on the flange lo. The member i3 is suiciently resilient so that the operator of the machine may grasp a linger-piece i3d (Figl) and press the member it slightly away from the rib Hic with which the notched portion i3 cooperates and rotate the member i3 countei'clockwise (Fig. l) far enough to disengage the locking projections lh from the lugs Hic to permit removal of the iiange iti. When the new ribbon has been inserted and the flange lil replaced, the finger-piece i3d may be pushed in a clockwise direction until the notched portion i3c again snaps over the rib lilo.

in order to attach the ribbon i5 to the spool it is contemplated that the ribbon be wound on a suitable core it (Figs. e and 5) which may take the form of a short piece of fiber or cardboard tubing. Conveniently the ends ofthe ribbon l5 may be provided with a grommet il and the core it is formed with an open slot i6@ (Fig. to a central circular hole ith. The grommet H is attached to the end ofthe ribbon and, before winding the ribbon on the hub, at the time the ribbon is manufactured, the portion of the ribbon just to the right (Fig. 6) of the grommet l1 ls slipped into the slot ia and the ribbon hunched at the opening Iib. Slot ita is made just large enough to receive the ribbon edgewlse and opening liib made just large enough for the bunched part of the ribbon. The ribbon is then wound on the hub I6 and another grommet l1 may be placed on the outer end of the ribbon before packaging the ribbon.

When the operator desires to insert a new ribbon, the old one will be completely wound on one or the other of the two spools in the machine and the outer end of the old ribbon detached from the empty spool. The filled spool with the used ribbon may then be removed from the machine as a unit and the member i3 operated as described above to release the flange l0. The used ribbon may then be slipped ofi the hub I2 and thrown away in which case the only loss will be the fiber or cardboard bushing i6. The operator will then slip the new ribbon on the hub l2, ing care to see that the portion of the ribbon containing the grommet l1 is aligned with the slot adjacent the prong 12a in pushing the new When the flange I0 is replaced, the grommet il will act like a key to prevent the core l5 from turning on the hub l2. The outer end of the new ribbon may then be threaded through the machine in the usual way and the grommeted portion slipped into the empty core l@ which will remain on the empty substitutions and changes in spool in the machine. Conveniently two demcuntable ribbon spools like the one shown in Figs. 1 to 3 may be used and, in attaching the free end of the new ribbon to the em'pty spool, the same general procedure may be followed as in attaching the inner end of the ribbon to its core and placing the coil of ribbon and its core on the first spool, Conveniently the open end of slot i641 will confront the flange Il when inserting the ribbon to insure that the free end of the ribbon will not become detached when the flange it is replaced on the empty spool.

This method of attaching the ribbon to the spools is much cleaner than using the fingers to push the ribbon down into the space opposite the prong ld and pulling on the ribbon in an attempt to anchor the ribbon to the prong. However, since the removal of the flange ill leaves the interior of the hub i2 more accessible, it will be found it is much easier to attach the free end of the new ribbon by the prong i2a than it would be with an ordinary ribbon spool for which the flanges are rigidly attached to the hub. lt is quite common to construct typewriter ribbon spools with prongs like i2a for the purpose of anchoring the ribbon to the spool. On account of the close spacing of the flanges it is usually a dirty and difficult task to hook the end of the ribbon over the prong. lt is also a very difficult job to remove completely the ink soiling the operators hands when performing this operation. With the method oi attaching the ribbon shown in Figs. 4 to 6, the end of the ribbon may be handled very lightly and merely slipped into the slot lGa. in the core it and no force is required. Therefore it is possible to dispense with prong 12a if desired. but it may be provided in case it is preferred to use this means of anchoring the ribbon or for use with ribbons which are not provided with the core iii.

While there have been shown and described and pointed out the fundamental novel features of the invention as applied to a single embodiment, it will be understood that various omissions and the form and details of the device illustrated and in its operation may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention. It is the intention, therefore, to be limited only as indicated by the scope of the following claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A ribbon spool for typewriting and other office machines, comprising a pair of spool flanges, a hub rigidly secured to one of said flanges and provided lwith radially extending locking lugs equally spaced from the axis of the hub and a locking member rotatably mounted on the other flange concentric with the axis yof the hub and having a plurality of locking projections rotatably movable under said. lugs to lock the other iiange to the hub.

2. A ribbon spool for a typewriting and like machine, comprising two flanges, a hub portion secured to one of said flanges and having a plurality of equally spaced locking lugs, and a rotary locking spider pivotally mounted on and concentric with the axis of rotation of the second flange and having a plurality of locking arms designed to move underneath said locking lugs when the locking spider is rotated, and releasable means to hold said locking spider in locking position.

RONALD D. DODGE. 

